Indiana

Yorktown, Indiana, ranked among cheapest, safest places to live

Published

3 weeks ago

February 10, 2026

Press Room

Yorktown, Indiana, ranked among cheapest, safest places to live

Terry Nelson
| Muncie Star Press

YORKTOWN — The children’s eyes widened.

Then the class of 26 third-graders in Michelle Kahoe’s class broke into spontaneous applause.

The students were told their hometown of Yorktown was recently ranked No. 8 of the “50 Cheapest, Safest Places to Live in the U.S.,” according to MoneyLion.com, a financial technical platform and mobile app.

To compile its list, MoneyLion analyzed cost-of-living metrics and FBI crime data to identify cities that combine affordability with safety. Using crime statistics and housing/expenditure data from sources like Zillow, Sperling’s BestPlaces, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study ranked cities where annual living costs stayed under $55,000 while maintaining low violent and property crime rates.

Third-grader Claire was not surprised.

“I like that Yorktown is not so crowded like in New York City,” she said. “You can walk around and see people know you or say ‘hello.’”

Classmate Trey agreed: “I know people everywhere I go.”

Wyatt said he likes “there are places to go fishing, lots of ponds in my neighborhood,” where he said he caught bluegill, bass and catfish. “No, I don’t eat them. I put them back in the pond.” Wyatt said his dad taught him how to fish at a young age, and he goes fishing when his father and friends go.

“We consider ourselves the ‘Diamond of Delaware County,’” said Chase Bruton, Yorktown town manager since 2023 and past president of the Indiana Municipal Management Association. “We pride ourselves as being one of the best places to live in East Central Indiana.

“We attribute this to the small-town feel, good schools, and a close-knit community,” Bruton said.

Third-grader Cambrie added, “The town is always beautiful and well kept.”

Although the median income for Yorktown residents ranges from about $50,000 to $80,000, depending upon the source, according to MoneyLion.com, the annual cost of living in Yorktown was determined to be $37,572 per household.

“The people here really do enjoy the small-town vibe,” said Bruton, who previously served as project manager for Plainfield, Indiana. “Plainfield (population 33,000) had a ton of revenue. We are a much leaner organization. The town does a really good job with allocating the resources we have. Population is just under 12,000, and we are the 75th largest Indiana community, bigger than eight or nine counties in the state.”

One of the free town highlights is the Civic Green, built in 2020, which includes a splash pad, a covered stage for concerts, and some private shelters. The Chamber of Commerce finances bands through sponsorships and donations, with the town providing the location. This year, the town will host 15 free concerts on Friday evenings from May 29 and weekly throughout the summer.

“Yorktown is not a dying community as many smaller towns are. We have a bright future,” Bruton said.

Yorktown employs 33 full-time staff including police, headed up by the Yorktown Chief of Police Kurt Walthour, who has held this position since 2022.

Yorktown enjoys safety in numbers

MoneyLion.com recognized Yorktown in part for its high safety marks. Violent crime rate was low, with 0.0508 crimes per 1,000 residents. Property crime rate was also low with 2.202 crimes per 1,000. Yorktown employs 11 full-time and three part-time officers, according to the police chief; the part-time officers all have more than 20 years’ experience.

The safety rating did not go unnoticed by third-grader Charlotte, who said, “I like that Yorktown is a small town. It makes it nice and secure.”

“Any kind of recognition like this No. 8 ranking is a reflection of the local leadership and officers in our community,” Walthour said. “Yorktown is a very good community for crime in general. Every so often we’ll get juveniles doing what they should not be doing.

“We are more of a residential community than business, and the younger officers are out driving around being seen,” he said. “Schools are very easy to work with.”

The police can be seen interacting with students in the schools, where two officers serve as student resource officers. Often, a part-time officer will serve in the schools, as well.

“I’ve talked to criminal justice classes at the high school, and am currently meeting with the middle school principal about putting something together and talking to middle school parents about their kids and social media,” Walthour said. “Especially after what happened with the girl abducted in Fishers. We can’t be in their homes, of course. The parents need to police their kids at home and know what they’re up to and (who they’re) communicating with.”

“Public safety is our priority. The community is safe, and there are attractions: Four Day Ray (newer restaurant in town) — and the parks are a huge thing. Morrow’s Meadows is packed and there are new basketball courts out there. The city is also improving the area for better handicap accessibility. … There is a new apartment complex being built,” Walthour said. “There’s not a day you drive around that you don’t have at least five or six people wave at you. You need the community to do your job.”

One longtime community member, Becki Monroe, who started the Yorktown Historical Society 21 years ago, says she now has a great-great-grandson who is ninth generation of four different families from Yorktown.

“We were here when they put in the dirt,” Monroe laughed.

“In the early years, families came and stayed in Yorktown because of all the employment — a glass factory, Warner Gear Transmissions — and so many were farmers,” Monroe said. “My great-grandfather was a business owner. He operated a pool hall, liquor store and card room in town.”

Today, new housing attracts people to Yorktown. In addition to the Civic Green is a farmers market.

The Farmers’ Market operates each Friday night, from 4:30 to 7:30, from May through September at Morrow’s Meadows on Smith Street across from the school.

Morrow’s Meadows was a particular favorite spot in Yorktown for Kahoe’s third-grade class. Zach enjoyed Morrow’s Meadows, right across from the middle school.

“After I pick up my brother after school, we go right across the street and play until we get picked up,” Zach said.

Payton liked that there were “lots of parks where you can ride your bike and scooter,” and Sawyer noted, “Morrow’s Meadows is right next to the Pizza King, where you can go after playing.”

Yorktown graduate Nancy Sears Perry, who is serving in her second term on the Yorktown City Council, is also a lifelong resident who said, “Our family rolled in with the wagons in the mid-1800s.”

Music, markets among other amenities

Together with her business partner, Jeff Tingler, also a Yorktown graduate, Sears owns and operates the Yorktown Farm and Artisan Market in a partnership with the town.

“We average 55 vendors each Friday night, and on the nights of the ‘Young Entrepreneur’ program, once a month, the vendors number around 75,” Sears said.

The program, which is for school-aged kids 6 to 16, encourages the students to operate their own food or craft carts at the market. Sears and Tingler provide some training and information packets for the children and their parents. “They have to go through the same certification, labeling, and state laws to participate,” Sears said.

Started in 2021, the Yorktown Farm and Artisan Market is serving more than its weekly Friday night attendance of 1,200 to 1,800 visitors through initiatives and grants.

“We have started a 501C-3 non-profit arm of the farmers’ market so we can apply for grants to fund our food insecurity initiatives. We are a SNAP retailer, certified through USDA,” Sears said. “We have applied for the ‘Double Up’ grant. If someone comes to our table and runs their EBT card for $20, we can give them $40 for SNAP qualifying items. This will be our fourth season of being one of the 17 farmers’ markets that offers Double Up.”

Through the Indiana Department of Health, Sears and Tingler sought the help of Yorktown High School family and consumer science teacher and FCCLA club sponsor Misty Terrell Green to be in the national “Power of Produce” program.

“Any child through eighth grade can stop by the Power of Produce table where they get a $2 token to buy produce at the market. The booth is attended to by FCCLA club members who distribute information to the students and play games with the kids. We budgeted for 75 tokens and had 464 kids in the first year,” Sears said. “Now we have over 500 kids taking advantage of the tokens.”

With everything from visits and demonstrations by master gardeners to craft participation headed up by a local artist to a farm family who bring their goats to pet, “this is why our market is hopping. We have become an attraction; we want to create an environment that the whole family can enjoy,” Sears said.

“It’s (Yorktown) a great place to be. Having grown up in Yorktown, this is where we wanted to raise our family,” the town council member said. “We are trying to create that third space where people go to work, home — and where is that third place people want to go?”

For third-grader Lucy, the place to go is the Yorktown Public Library, across Indiana 332 from the elementary and middle schools. “I like how they read books to the 2-year-olds,” Lucy said. “And then they have cooking classes. I have made chocolate chip cookies and smoothies.”

Baseball center and sometimes right-fielder Drew enjoyed the sports at Yorktown: “If you wanna try a sport, there’s all sorts of sports there and places where everyone can play. You can practice baseball and football.”

Addy likes that “the animal of our town is the tiger because he’s feisty.”

School and food places rank high

Schools are another reason for the satisfaction among Yorktown families, said 11th-year Yorktown High School Principal Stacy Brewer. The ranking “does not surprise me because — I’m probably biased, but — Yorktown is an excellent place to teach, work and raise children.”

Several third-grade students noted their teachers are “very nice and if you needed help, they helped you,” as Alex said. Sadie said teachers are especially helpful when “teaching long division.”

“We’re continually listed in the USA News and World Report’s top 10 percent of the state and country for our academic prowess,” Brewer said. “Most recently we were named to the Gold-level Advanced Placement School Honor Roll, awarded by the college board.”

The designation is given annually to schools with AP programs that broaden participation, foster college-going culture, and improve student performance. To earn the gold distinction, 75 percent of seniors took at least one AP exam, according to the AP site.

“Yorktown’s strength comes from the way our community looks out for one another,” the principal said. “Across all four schools, this means strong partnerships with families, a clear focus on student safety and well-being, and adults who are deeply invested in helping students succeed academically and personally.”

“When students feel supported and seen, school becomes a more stable, positive place – and that stability extends well beyond the classroom,” Brewer said. “I love working with the Yorktown community, and I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

The only other place many third-graders want to be is where food is being served.

Third-grader Dominick said he “liked the variety of foods in Yorktown, like burgers, and tacos, and French fries, and chicken nuggets …” It might be noted that McDonalds, Burger King and Taco Bell are all found along Indiana 332 when traveling from Muncie into Yorktown.

Classmate Braxton added, “Don’t forget Pizza King and Frozen Boulder,” while “Twisters Soda Bar” was added by Caden, whose favorite concoction was strawberry lemonade.

It was hard to believe the students had just come back to the classroom from lunch.

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Indiana

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year extension worth $13.2 million per year

Published

6 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

Indiana’s Curt Cignetti cashes in on title run with 8-year extension worth .2 million per year

Indiana coach Curt Cignetti is cashing in on his first national championship run — even more than initially expected.

Athletic department officials announced Monday that the two-time national coach of the year has signed a memorandum of understanding on an eight-year contract extension, paying him an annual average of $13.2 million — or an increase of about $1.6 million per year from what school officials said Cignetti would earn when he first agreed to the extension in October.

School officials released the document Cignetti signed Feb. 4.

He joins Georgia coach Kirby Smart and LSU coach Lane Kiffin as the only active Football Bowl Subdivision coaches to receive paychecks of $13 million or more. The payouts could be even higher if Cignetti earns bonuses for winning Big Ten or national coach of the year honors in addition to playoff appearances and conference titles. The 64-year-old Cignetti already has said he hopes to retire at Indiana.

The new deal calls for a base salary of $500,000 per year through the 2033 season and a $1 million retention bonus on Nov. 30 of each year, starting this fall. The remaining portion of the $105.6 million will be collected from outside, promotional and marketing income.

Cignetti initially agreed to an eight-year extension worth $92.8 million — an annual average of $11.6 million — but university officials agreed to modify the deal as the Hoosiers remained undefeated and pursued the first football national championship in school history.

It’s the third time Cignetti has received a raise since he took over the losingest program in FBS history in November 2024. All he’s done since arriving is produce the two best seasons in school history while becoming one of college football’s fan favorites for his quick quips and unique facial expressions. Players have embraced him, too, telling many of their favorite Cignetti tales.

Just ask tight end Riley Nowakowski, who recounted his favorite Cignetti story during the recent NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis.

“I think (Alberto Mendoza) was in the game, and he pulled like four runs in a row,” Nowakowski said, referring to last season’s victory over Illinois. “He kept pulling it, kept pulling it, kept pulling it, and then after the fourth time, it was a terrible read. So in the middle of the game, (Cignetti) tells our coach, ‘Get (Alberto) over here.’ Bert’s like, ‘What, it’s the middle of a game, what are you doing?’ And (Cignetti) goes, ‘We’re not paying you to run the ball, hand the ball off, right? We’re up like 70 points, but he’s pissed off, yelling at Bert, and (Cignetti) just turned back at me and gave me one of his little smiles, and he was just like, ’You like that now?’”

Cignetti wasted no time delivering on his promise to win after leading James Madison to the most successful transition from the Football Championship Subdivision to the FBS.

The son of Hall of Fame coach Frank Cignetti and a former Alabama assistant led Indiana to a school record 11 wins and its first College Football Playoff appearance in his first season with the Hoosiers.

Last season, he outdid that mark by producing the first 16-0 mark in major college football since the 1890s. The Hoosiers also won their first outright Big Ten crown since 1945, beat Miami on its home field to claim the national title and shed the label of having the most all-time losses in FBS history.

Mendoza’s older brother, Fernando, also became the first Indiana player to win the Heisman Trophy and is expected to be the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL draft.

The reward: A record nine players, including Mendoza and Nowakowski, attended the recent combine in Indianapolis while Cignetti got another pay raise and school officials continued to invest heavily in keeping the coach’s staff together.

Offensive coordinator Mike Shanahan and defensive coordinator Bryant Haines each agreed to three-year contract extensions worth about $3 million per year in December, making them two of the highest-paid assistants in the FBS. Haines won this year’s Broyles Award, which goes to the nation’s top assistant coach.

Indiana will begin next season with the longest winning streak (16) and longest home winning streak (15) in the FBS. Cignetti has never lost a home game with the Hoosiers, who open defense of their league and national titles at home against North Texas on Sept. 5.

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Indiana

What Tom Izzo said after Michigan State’s win over Indiana

Published

18 hours ago

March 2, 2026

Press Room

What Tom Izzo said after Michigan State’s win over Indiana

Michigan State basketball went into Assembly Hall on Sunday afternoon and controlled the Hoosiers from start to finish, earning a 77-64 victory. The win goes a long way in almost virtually confirming that the Spartans will have a triple-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, while also bolstering the Spartans case to get a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For the second straight outing in the state of Indiana, MSU head coach Tom Izzo came away pleased with his group, and expressed that to the media:

“Well, to be honest with you, for once, we got off to a good start. We haven’t been doing that. We decided to try to go inside, Kohler (had) been struggling, we thought we’d try to get him going. We get that 10-point lead and it kind of stayed that way.
“We did not do a great job of building on it, it’s because they’re a good team. Everybody asks me, ‘Are they good enough to be in the tournament?’ Read my lips: hell yes. It’s just that somebody’s got to lose some of these games. The league is so good.”
“I’m proud of my guys, because coming back from that Thursday-Sunday deal, both on the road, I thought they showed a lot of character. I’m proud of my staff, those preps are not easy at this time of year. Kur came off the bench and really sparked us after making more than a few mistakes.”
“What I appreciated about the game is I thought Jeremy took over. Everything we asked him to run early, to go into Jaxon, he did a great job of. I thought Kur, who’s a sophomore now, took a big step forward after not playing very well the 5 minutes he was in there early and falling down and giving up 3s, and then he bounced back. That’s kind of what you’ve gotta do.”
“We did it a little different way. We said this will be kind of like the NCAA Tournament where you’ve got a one- or two-day prep, one-day prep, so I think it was good for us. I’m really proud of them, but I don’t want to be proud of them until I’m done playing.”
“All in all, guys, we’re in spring break, which means you can practice like 100 times, and nobody arrests you or anything. But our guys deserve some time off and we’ll get some things done tomorrow. “

Contact/Follow us @The SpartansWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Michigan State news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Cory Linsner on X @Rex_Linzy

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Indiana

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

Published

1 day ago

March 1, 2026

Press Room

Coast Guard investigates death of mariner working barge in Jeffersonville

U.S. Coast Guard officials are investigating March 1 after a mariner died while working on a barge in Jeffersonville, Indiana.

An incident involving the mariner occurred the afternoon of Feb. 27 at mile marker 597 of the Ohio River, said Lt. Cmdr. Steve Leighty, public affairs officer for the U.S. Coast Guard Ohio Valley Sector. Leighty declined to provide further details about the mariner and the circumstances of their death, citing the ongoing investigation.

Officials with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office are also investigating the incident, Leighty said.

Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter

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